Sangkuriang

Dayang Sumbi was a daughter of King Prabu Sungging

Perbangkara. She was a beautiful girl who was also adept in
weaving and cooking. Many noblemen came to propose her, yet the
princess chose to turn away from all of them. She was afraid that if
she accepted one of the proposals, it would cause wars among the
men. Finally, with the king’s permission, Dayang Sumbi secluded
herself in a hut on the fringe of a jungle, carrying her weaving tools.
She spent her time weaving clothes.

One night, Dayang Sumbi was weaving on the porch when one of
her thread rolls accidentally slipped out of her hut to the dark. She
uttered a vow: “whoever takes back my thread, if it is a woman I will
take her as sister, if it is a man I will marry him.”

Suddenly, a black male dog showed up with the thread. Dayang

Sumbi kept her promise to marry a male who found the thread.
“Well, dog. Although you’re an animal, I’m willing to be your wife,”
said Dayang Sumbi. Miraculously, the dog turned into a handsome
young man. Dayang Sumbi was speechless to see that. “Who are
you?” she asked.

“I am an incarnation of god,” said the young man.

The two of them soon fell in love with each other and were since
then involved in a romantic relationship. Dayang Sumbi called the
young man Si Tumang, which most of time he would be in his dog
form.

A year later, they had a son which they named Sangkuriang. The
little boy grew up smart and tireless. Every day, he would go to the
woods to hunt deer and catch fishes in the river accompanied by Si
Tumang. Sangkuriang didn’t know that the dog was actually his
father.

One day, Sangkuriang went hunting and wanted to give his mother
a deer’s heart. However, until the night fell, he didn’t see any deer.
With a disappointed heart, he walked home with Si Tumang. But
then a deer ran past him. Quickly, he commanded Si Tumang to run
after it, but the dog stayed put.

He was frustrated that the dog wouldn’t run after the deer. Filled
with anger, Sangkuriang lost grip of the arrow. It quickly rushed
toward the dog and killed it. Sangkuriang then took its heart for his
mother.

In the hut, Dayang Sumbi cooked the heart and ate it. When she
was enjoying the heart, she realized that Si Tumang wasn’t with
Sangkuriang. Sangkuriang then admitted that he killed the dog, and
that she was eating its heart.
Dayang Sumbi was so angry and hit Sangkuriang’s head with her
spoon. Sangkuriang was wounded and bleeding. Sobbing in pain,
Sangkuriang was so sad that his mother hit him. He did not feel
guilty for what he did. Dayang Sumbi didn’t share the same
thoughts, yet she also couldn’t reveal to Sangkuriang that Si
Tumang was actually his father.

Sangkuriang decided to leave his house to stroll to any place his

feet might take him. After he left, Dayang Sumbi regretted what she
did to Sangkuriang and prayed to God for the return of her son
some time. God heard her, and Dayang Sumbi was bestowed with
an eternal beauty, so his son would still recognize her when they
met later.

Meanwhile, in the jungle, Sangkuriang staggered along while

holding his wounded head. He fainted, falling to the ground. When
he woke up, there was an old man sitting beside him. It was Ki
Ageng, a hermit who found Sangkuriang unconscious in the woods
and took him to his cave. He treated Sangkuriang’s wound and kept
him safe in the cave.

Sangkuriang could not remember anything of his past. He even

forgot his name. Ki Ageng then named him Jaka. Ki Ageng raised
the young man and passed on some of his powers and knowledge
to him.

When Jaka grew older, he decided to find out his past. With Ki
Ageng’s permission, he went off. Several days later, he found a hut
on the fringe of a jungle. He stopped at the hut and asked for water.
The owner of the hut was a very beautiful woman, which was
actually Dayang Sumbi. Jaka was astounded to see her, and
apparently she too found Jaka attractive. She brought the guest a
drink and had a chat with him. They soon fell in love with each
other. Jaka did not know that the woman was actually his mother,
and Dayang Sumbi also didn’t realize that Jaka was Sangkuriang,
her son.

The next morning, when about to go hunting, Jaka asked Dayang

Sumbi to tie his headband. It was when Dayang Sumbi saw the
scar on his head. Taken aback, Dayang Sumbi asked Jaka how he
got the scar. However, Jaka couldn’t remember that. He just told
her that a hermit found him unconscious and wounded in the jungle.
It made Dayang Sumbi sure that her lover was his own son.

Dayang Sumbi grew anxious as she knew that she could not marry
her own son. She tried to convince him that he was his son and
thus break their relationship. Sangkuriang could not accept that.
Seeing his son’s insistence, Dayang Sumbi was scared. She
thought of every possible way to distant herself from him.
An idea finally came across her mind. She asked Sangkuriang to
make her a lake and a boat. Driven with love, Sangkuriang agreed
to grant her wish. Dayang Sumbi demanded Sangkuriang to finish
the task before dawn the next day.

Sangkuriang used all his powers and called unseen spirits to help
him with the task. They began to dig the ground and pile big stones
to dam up Citarum River. In the middle of the night, Dayang Sumbi
silently peeped at Sangkuriang’s work, only to be surprised by how
fast they were doing it.

Dayang Sumbi could no longer stay calm. She rushed to the village
and woke the people up. She asked help from the villagers to get a
wide and long red cloth and spread out on the east where
Sangkuriang was working. The red cloth made it look like it was
morning already. People also took out their roosters and let them
crow.

The spirits helping Sangkuriang thought the sun was rising already.
They hurried to vanish to avoid getting burnt, leaving the work
undone. However, Sangkuriang, a smart man, knew that it was
actually not morning yet. He knew that it was all Dayang Sumbi’s
ideas.

He was infuriated. Using his power, he ruined the dam he made. In

a very short time, water overflowed the place. He then kicked the
boat away. It was flung up high, and fell upside down. Over the
time, it turned into a mountain, and people since then called the
mountain Tangkuban Perahu.